Theresa May: “Police are public, public are police”

Last week, in the heart of Brixton, the Home Secretary Theresa May announced a major review in regards to the deaths in police custody. It was part of a wider debate to restore trust and build public confidence, particularly with Black and minority ethnic communities and the police.

In her speech at the Brixton Recreational Centre hosted by Operation Black Vote, the Home Secretary stated how she was moved by the personal testament of the families of Sean Rigg, Roland Adams, and Olaseni Lewis.

The Home Secretary stated that every death in custody has the potential to

underline dramatically the relationship between the public and the police".

Last year figures showed that the number of suicides after being released from police custody reached its highest level for 10 years, with 68 people apparently taking their own lives within two days of being arrested or detained in 2013/14.

The independent probe will examine the lead-up to and aftermath of fatalities and serious incidents, with a focus on the support given to bereaved families.

It will also include an investigation of issues including the use of restraints, suicides that take place within 48 hours of being detained and access to mental health facilities.

During the question and answer session Maltida Macatram from Black Mental Health UK asked the Home Secretary: Whether race would be writ large during the enquiry? To which May responded: That ‘Inquest’ - the organisation chosen to drive the review - would no doubt see race as part of their framework.

Marcia Rigg-Samuel, whose brother Sean Rigg died at Brixton Police Station in 2008, said:

Families of those who have died in police custody have for far too long been badly treated by state agents, only to be faced with intrusive means assessments of their extended family when applying for funding for legal representation at the inquest."

Meanwhile, state agents are automatically represented by teams of lawyers. There is a clear need for a radical overhaul of how the whole system works following a death in police custody, and I hope that the independent review will address this, as well as the root causes of these avoidable deaths and ensuring accountability for those who fail in their duties to members of the public.”

In her closing remarks about the public contract between the police and the public the Home Secretary stated that:

Only when both sides of that contract are met, can we realise completely the idea that the police are the public and that the public are the police”

Here’s the Home Secretary’s speech in full.
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/home-secretary-announces-review-of-deaths-in-policy-custody

Simon Woolley